1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for disrupting improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices of this type are used especially by police forces and military forces and, in general, for disrupting explosive charges, bombs, and the like. They are used to penetrate the dangerous object, often in the area of the detonator mechanism, and destroy it by low-energy means, so that the explosive or incendiary charge is not detonated.
Previously known devices of this type have an accelerator in the form of an electrically fired cartridge. However, a problem that is encountered here is the safety of these cartridges with respect to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Unintentional firing, which can be caused, for example, by electromagnetic fields or pulses, must be absolutely prevented. Therefore, EMC safety is absolutely necessary for transporting cartridges by air, for example, to reach as fast as possible a destination where an IED must be disrupted. However, the transportation of the cartridges normally must continue by land, precisely because of a lack of EMC safety, while the disruptor is being carried by air, e.g., by helicopter, with the rest of the equipment, to the destination where the IED must be disrupted. The storage and shipping of the cartridges also present problems, especially when the sites of production, storage, and use are far apart, for example, on different continents. The cartridges must then be declared as special hazardous material and are also subject to complicated customs regulations.